In Spirit
by FireBird9900
Summary: Yu Yu Hakusho and Yu-Gi-Oh crossover. Joey was killed, but not all is lost when he is given a strange offer to help the spirit detectives. Can he keep his secret, or will he be forced to leave his life again?


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In Spirit

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Gi Oh or Yu Yu Hakusho**.**

The day was dark and dreary to the group standing around the monument, but in all reality the day was no different then any other day. The sun was out shinning its light across the world, and the soft sounds of animals could be heard; but to the group, there was no life left. The sun's soft rays of warmth were out of their grasps, and the sound the animal's made was nothing more then an echo. There was nothing that the day could bring that would bring them joy, because the one person that brought them happiness was no longer among them.

"Damn mutt," Kaiba silently cursed as he felt his strong demeanor breaking. Tilting his head up toward the sky, he tried to salvage the tears that had formed in his eyes, but they broke free and started pouring down the side of his face.

He shouldn't care, by all means, he should be relieved that the nuisance was gone. Yet Kaiba was standing at Joey Wheeler's funeral, just as upset as everybody else. Nobody came to him to offer their sympathy, and nobody came to demand why he was there. No one dared to, because they all knew that it was in his arms that the blonde had died in.

The blonde's last few moments alive flashed in Kaiba's mind, refusing to allow him a moments peace to come to terms with the tragedy he had witnessed. Nobody deserved to die the way the blonde had. The boy was tortured mentally, physically, and sexually, and it would have continued if Kaiba hadn't accidentally interfered. It was because of Kaiba's startling appearance that the knife that lay teasingly across the blonde's abdomen slipped, creating the fatal wound.

Kaiba could still feel the blonde's blood on him, as the warm liquid flowed from the body, and cooled around him, creating a sticky mess that refused to be washed away. Yet even with the mess, Kaiba had held the dying boy close to his body. Resting Joey's golden head against his chest, while he whispered comforting words to the shaking boy.

"Please take care of my sister and my friends."

Even in his dying moments, his sister and friends remained the blonde's main concern. Kaiba had wanted to shake the boy, demand that he care about himself, but instead, all he could do was grant the boy's last request.

It had broken Kaiba's heart when the blonde uttered his last words. They had completely caught him off guard, and it was that that had caused the cold CEO to break down and cling to Joey's lifeless body like his very soul depended on it.

"You know that includes you too Seto."

It had taken the cops and ambulance crew hours to pry Kaiba away from Joey's body, and even after they succeeded it had taken five guy's to keep Kaiba from springing back to the blonde's side. Kaiba didn't calm down until Mokuba finally showed up, and offered to take Joey's place in his brother's arms.

It was while he was in his younger brother's arms, that Kaiba found just how lonely he really was. Nobody had ever considered him a friend before, and yet a dying boy had given him what he had always secretly wanted. Life was too cruel. Kaiba hated it, but he wasn't going to let anybody see just how much Joey's death affected him. After a few more moments of tears, Kaiba pulled out of his brother's comforting grasp, and put on his famous business façade.

Mokuba had watched the change with a frown. To everybody else, the famous Kaiba was unaffected by the tragedy, but the younger Kaiba could easily see past his brother's outward exterior. The older Kaiba was still hurting inside, it was his eyes that gave it away. There were dry tears in his eyes.

The next few days had gone by in a daze for the distraught Kaiba. He had purposely avoided turning on the television incase it happened to talk about Wheeler's death, but he mainly stayed away from the blonde's friends. He wasn't ready to see how they were affected by Joey's death. But he couldn't avoid it forever, and the day of Joey's funeral finally arrived.

Kaiba hadn't wanted to come, didn't want to face the group that would no doubt demand to know what had happened in those last few moments. Yet here he was standing detached from everybody else, silently suffering until a small hand touched his own.

Looking down had been a mistake since it allowed more tears to escape, but he had to know who would dare intrude on his private grieving. Who he saw only brought more tears to his eyes.

Serenity Wheeler held his hand within her own, before she looked up to meet the startled blue eyes of her brother's rival. "I heard you were there when my brother was killed," Serenity started hesitantly watching, waiting to see what Kaiba's reaction would be. She was a little surprised to see guilt flash across Kaiba's face. Tear's welled up in Serenity's eyes at this before she flung herself against Kaiba's body. She pressed herself against his while her arms snaked their way around his torso, giving the much taller boy a firm hug. "I wanted to thank you for making my brother's passing as painless as possible. I know Joey hated being alone, you being there means so much to me and it would have meant so much to him too," Serenity sobbed into the CEO's black shirt. For a moment Kaiba stood there unsure of what to do, and then Joey's words echoed in his head.

"Please take care of my sister…"

Kaiba felt his arms circling the girl's body gripping the crying girl like he had when he had held her brother. Serenity's sobbing slowly died down before she looked back up at Kaiba's tearful eyes.

"Come join us, you don't have to be alone any longer," Serenity offered pulling out of the embrace, but somehow her hand once again found Kaiba's hand.

Kaiba didn't know what to think as the girl led him toward Joey's group of friends. All he could think about was that the whole time, Serenity's hand never pulled away. The feeling of her hand in his own was the only thing that gave him the strength to move on. Little did Kaiba know that he was also giving Serenity the strength she needed to continue. Together amongst the tragedy, the two young people had found something to live for in the presence of each other.

TBC.

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Author's endnote: This story will have Joey/Mai, Seto/Serenity pairings, and maybe a few others that I can think of. This story is also a Yu Yu Hakusho and Yu Gi Oh crossover. Now please don't start mobbing me for killing Joey, the story has just started, give me a chance to redeem myself first. Review and let me know what you think.


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